


Experience

by SuperCatTrashhh (GeneralBFA)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Panic Attacks, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 10:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6607678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeneralBFA/pseuds/SuperCatTrashhh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex learning how to help Kara through panic attacks. (Prequel to "Unsteady")</p>
            </blockquote>





	Experience

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BeaMoraes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeaMoraes/gifts).



> Hey guys! This is another story containing panic attacks, so be careful. Like it says in the summary, Alex had to learn how to deal with Kara's panic attacks.

The first time it happened, Alex didn't know what to do. She had heard of people having panic attacks, but nothing like this. This was a mixture of sensory overload and panic. Kara, her newly made younger sister was curled up in the fetal position.

It was only a week after she'd been on Earth, and she had just been settled into her own room after staying in Alex's a few nights so that the Danvers could furnish it properly.

Little did they know that Kara wouldn't be able to handle being alone at night so soon. Alex had come in to prepare her for school the next day, to find the blonde crying heart wrenching sobs in the corner of her room.

"Kara? What's wrong?" Alex had asked in concern.

"You're too loud," Kara whispered so that she almost didn't catch it.

Alex paused to think.

"How much can you hear," she whispered, knowing Kara could pick it up.

"Everything, Alexandra Danvers, e-everything," the younger girl stuttered.

"Try to focus just on my voice, babygirl," Alex slipped into the pet name easily without thinking, surprising herself.

Kara nodded and screwed her face up in concentration as she attempted to block everything else out.

"Okay," Alex said a little bit louder, "how is this volume now?"

"G-good," she said in a normal volume, still sniffling, she suddenly recoiled.

"Smell something?" Alex asked.

Kara nodded.

"Can I get closer to you?"

Kara hesitantly nodded again.

Alex walked to her corner of the room and sat in front of her.

"Okay, focus on only my scent now."

Kara inhaled through her nose a few times and after a few minutes she relaxed a bit more.

"Can I touch you?"

Kara nodded.

And on it went with all of the senses until Kara was focusing on only her.

"At school, when it's too much, just do the same thing with the closest person to you. You'll probably be in most of my classes since you're in the advanced classes, so I'll see if you can sit next to me, okay?"

Kara, who was cuddled up to Alex's side with her head on her chest, nodded in understanding and continued to listen to the beat of the other girl's heart.

The next time a huge one happened, wasn't until a few years later. This time it wasn't sensory overload. It was just pure panic.

It had been a stressful time, with finals for the first semester coming up, lying to friends, moving houses even. Alex walked into her room and saw Kara on her bed, in the far corner, trembling and cried the same heart wrenching sobs she had heard so long ago.

"Hey, babygirl, what's wrong?" Alex asked sitting on her bed just outside the younger girl's personal bubble.

"I-it was horrible A-alex. Sh-she gave u-us th-the t-test a-and I kn-know I d-did terrible and then I slammed my locker a little too hard and there's a dent in it. How am I going to cover that up? Not to mention Katie and Ally were there. What am I going to tell them Alex?"

"Kara, can I hug you?" Alex asked carefully.

Instead of deeming her with a verbal answer, Kara scooted towards her sister a bit more and laid her head on the older girl's lap. Alex hesitantly ran her hand through the light blonde hair, hoping the physical touch would help her relax. It seemed to help a bit, though she was still hyperventilating.

Suddenly, she remembered reading about how different things can soothe panic attacks. Alex didn't know how Kara would react to the idea, but at this point, anything that might work would be welcome. No matter how awkward it might be.

"Babygirl, can you sit up for a moment I-"

"No no, please Alex don't leave me!" Kara cried working herself up back into a panic.

"I'm not leaving, babygirl. You can watch me if you like. I just thought of something that may help calm down," Alex promised.

Kara nodded and sat up, and watched Alex as she took off her shirt quickly.

"Alex what-"

The older girl cut her off, "I read somewhere in my Psych class that skin-to-skin contact is something that calms most people down. It is how our brains developed in the early stages of infancy."

"Would it help if I took my shirt off too?"

"Probably," Alex shrugged, "If you don't want to, don't worry about it."

"Okay," Kara said and tugged off her own shirt.

"Do you want to lay down?" Alex asked gesturing to her bed.

Kara nodded and Alex laid down first so that Kara could settle next to her in a position comfortable to her. The younger girl rested her ear on her sister's chest and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Try to match your breathing with mine, babygirl," Alex suggested, rubbing her back soothingly.

After a while Kara relaxed, her breathing slowing down considerably. Alex could tell the girl was comforted by the sound of her heartbeat.

She fell asleep in Alex's arms, conveniently missing the hushed explanation given to their mother when she walked in to Alex's room and saw both of her daughters cuddled up in sports bras and sweatpants.

From that day forward, Alex became increasingly attuned to what Kara needed in these situations. When the younger girl's breathing sped up, she looked for a hand to hold in comfort. When she was starting to panic, Alex would hug her tight and simply hold her. When she was crying uncontrollably, the shirts came off and the cuddling started.

The routine was set in place. A simple script of a conversation was set in place before the next one. The repeated actions helped Kara find an anchor when her mind was scattered and unorganized as it was when panic ensued.

For this reason, Alex was the only one who was able to comfort her. If they were separated, just the sound of her voice over the phone was enough to put Kara's mind to rest.

However, little did they know that the next life-altering attack would have their roles reversed.

Alex had been carrying around the guilt of faking Astra's death for weeks. It was affecting her ability to work, which just made her spiral even more, leading up to the point when Alex told her a partial truth. That she had killed Astra.

The anger and hurt in Kara's eyes had made her slip over the edge, she couldn't breathe through her wracking sobs.

 _Is this what it's like to die?_ she asked herself.

Almost instantly, Kara understood what was happening and walked forward to hug Alex tightly. She tucked the brunette's head under her chin so that her ear rested on her clothed chest.

Now Alex finally understood why Kara needed to be hugged so tightly. It felt like she was being held together, when she couldn't do it herself. According to her studies, the comfort came from the fact that she was made aware of her own breathing, but it was so much more than that. She knew now why Kara had such a hard time explaining it.

She dug her fingers into the shoulders of the girl of steel, as another sob shook through her. Still, Alex couldn't control her breathing, leading her to panic even more.

They stood for a few minutes, when Kara said some parting words that Alex wasn't able to understand in her state of mind. She barely noticed when Kara flew them both to her own apartment.

This time, Kara started the loose script.

"Babygirl, I need you to let go of me for just a few seconds okay? You can watch me to make sure I don't go anywhere okay?"

"Okay," Alex replied as she barely registered the words said. The panic washed over her again as she let go of Kara. She unzipped the top part of her super suit and took it off so that her top was only in a sports bra.

"Babygirl, you need to take your shirt off, okay?"

"Okay," Alex said vacantly as she tugged it off over her head.

Once it was done, Kara pulled her into another hug in the same position they were in previously.

"Try to match my breathing, babygirl," Kara whispered and Alex closed her eyes to focus on the rising and falling of her chest. The skin-on-skin contact was something she unknowingly craved. It made her feel safe and protected. Vaguely, she recognized Kara's hand running through her hair, and she relaxed even more.

"Good job, babygirl. Let's get you to bed okay?"

Alex nodded, tears streaming down her face as she used Kara as crutch. In her studies, Alex had found that in a panic attack made your heart race so fast that it was an equivalent to running a marathon, but now she truly understood the exhaustion of it.

She looked at her sister in a different light after that. How strong she was to go through that frequently herself. The emotional and physical drain of it made Alex respect her sister even more than she already did.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! As always please leave comments, Kudos, and prompt suggestions down below! Have an amazing day!


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